Inconvenient Truths
29/01/12 19:19
I
recently learned that our former vice president, Al
Gore, has purchased a 9 million dollar
beachfront
home
in Montecito, California. I purposely italicized
beachfront
only
because of Mr. Gore’s campaign on global warming
is so well known that one has to at least stop and
“scratch the head” on this one.
Those who believe in Mr. Gore’s (with many others in agreement) theories on global warming believe that the sea levels will rise significantly due to the melting polar caps. Which begs the question: Why buy beachfront property, if you believe that within a few years it will be under water? This is an inconvenient truth for Mr. Gore and there are a number of people who are asking for an explanation.
When I learned of his purchase, I have to admit I was more than a little astonished. How could a man who so totally believes in something, who promotes the message so emphatically and no doubt lives what he believes, make such a critical error in judgment?
I would never do that! No sirree, I would never do that! I remember the thoughts and feelings that went through my mind after I learned of this blatant act of hypocrisy! (I am being sarcastic here) I started to feel a little uppity and smug. I don’t like those feelings when they try to take root in me. So, I had to toss them around with a little prayer; and this is what I came up with:
First, God reminded me of all the hypocrisy that He witnesses from sun up to sun down, everyday –all the time. And this hypocrisy is not limited to unbelievers. Some Christians are notoriously hypocritical.
For instance, does not the Word of truth tell us that no homosexual offender will enter the kingdom of God? Then, why are there countless men and women who live in this sin daily and who believe that they love Jesus and will someday rule and reign with Him for all eternity? Maybe it is because there are men and women who claim to be ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and teach others that homosexuality is not a sin! Now, that is the ultimate hypocrisy, don’t you think?!
Just a thought here; do you think that God has more patience for those who do not know the truth, or for those who say they hold to the Truth? I tend to have more patience with those who do not claim to be Christian, then with those who do.
I am not saying that God does (just because I do) I am just asking. I remember Jesus nailing the Pharisees to their own hypocrisies, while telling the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”
This brings me to my second point: My own personal sin! I don’t see it, but I am sure that others do. And without question God does! Thank God for the blood of Jesus, which cleanses me from all unrighteousness! But let’s get real here.
Let’s not talk about those sins in which we are. Instead, let’s talk about that sin which followed temptation. That sin that you and I commit. That sin in which the Holy Spirit begged you to flee from – but you wouldn’t listen.
Maybe it was a lie, maybe you cheated on your taxes, maybe it was sexual in nature, or maybe you just down right stole something. It sounds crazy that a Christian could do such a thing, doesn’t it? But as hypocritical as we may think others show themselves to be, how much more the Christian who at the moment of temptation chooses to sin rather than to submit to the Lover of his soul. At that moment, he or she has turned their world upside down and has thrown out everything they truly believe in.
To sin (for the Christian) is the ultimate show of stupidity; for at that moment, we dethrone God from our hearts and believe that we will not have to answer to Him in the end. “For we all must stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” I don’t like feeling uppity and smug, it only leads to self-righteousness. I think I’ll throw down my stone and let Jesus deal with Mr. Gore.
Those who believe in Mr. Gore’s (with many others in agreement) theories on global warming believe that the sea levels will rise significantly due to the melting polar caps. Which begs the question: Why buy beachfront property, if you believe that within a few years it will be under water? This is an inconvenient truth for Mr. Gore and there are a number of people who are asking for an explanation.
When I learned of his purchase, I have to admit I was more than a little astonished. How could a man who so totally believes in something, who promotes the message so emphatically and no doubt lives what he believes, make such a critical error in judgment?
I would never do that! No sirree, I would never do that! I remember the thoughts and feelings that went through my mind after I learned of this blatant act of hypocrisy! (I am being sarcastic here) I started to feel a little uppity and smug. I don’t like those feelings when they try to take root in me. So, I had to toss them around with a little prayer; and this is what I came up with:
First, God reminded me of all the hypocrisy that He witnesses from sun up to sun down, everyday –all the time. And this hypocrisy is not limited to unbelievers. Some Christians are notoriously hypocritical.
For instance, does not the Word of truth tell us that no homosexual offender will enter the kingdom of God? Then, why are there countless men and women who live in this sin daily and who believe that they love Jesus and will someday rule and reign with Him for all eternity? Maybe it is because there are men and women who claim to be ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and teach others that homosexuality is not a sin! Now, that is the ultimate hypocrisy, don’t you think?!
Just a thought here; do you think that God has more patience for those who do not know the truth, or for those who say they hold to the Truth? I tend to have more patience with those who do not claim to be Christian, then with those who do.
I am not saying that God does (just because I do) I am just asking. I remember Jesus nailing the Pharisees to their own hypocrisies, while telling the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”
This brings me to my second point: My own personal sin! I don’t see it, but I am sure that others do. And without question God does! Thank God for the blood of Jesus, which cleanses me from all unrighteousness! But let’s get real here.
Let’s not talk about those sins in which we are. Instead, let’s talk about that sin which followed temptation. That sin that you and I commit. That sin in which the Holy Spirit begged you to flee from – but you wouldn’t listen.
Maybe it was a lie, maybe you cheated on your taxes, maybe it was sexual in nature, or maybe you just down right stole something. It sounds crazy that a Christian could do such a thing, doesn’t it? But as hypocritical as we may think others show themselves to be, how much more the Christian who at the moment of temptation chooses to sin rather than to submit to the Lover of his soul. At that moment, he or she has turned their world upside down and has thrown out everything they truly believe in.
To sin (for the Christian) is the ultimate show of stupidity; for at that moment, we dethrone God from our hearts and believe that we will not have to answer to Him in the end. “For we all must stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” I don’t like feeling uppity and smug, it only leads to self-righteousness. I think I’ll throw down my stone and let Jesus deal with Mr. Gore.
Have
a blessed week!
Pastor
Jim
|
FAITH IS…
22/01/12 20:03
Picture yourself in the midst of a very dark cave. The cave is actually a series of caves and tunnels, and you are at the conjunction where four tunnels have joined before running in four separate directions. Suddenly there is a cave in and you are surrounded by rock and debris.
There is very little room to move and you’re not sure which direction to go for an escape. You pull some matches out of your pocket and strike it for some light. As you hold the match out at arm’s distance, you circle around to see if there is any hope. You see nothing. Strike another match. Circle again, only slower this time.
This time you notice the flame seems to bend toward your left. Thinking that there may be a breeze coming in from your right, you move in that direction and realize that maybe, just maybe your assumption may be correct. You strike another match close to the wall of debris and sure enough; the flame on the match is being blown back toward you.
This is the situation; you need to remove rock and dirt from the area you think one of the tunnels is that will lead you out of the cave. You cannot see any light and you actually feel no breeze –you only see the movement of the flame from the head of the match.
Now, you can sit there and say to yourself, “I think air is coming from that direction, the evidence is the flame of the match. I don’t see the air. I don’t feel a breeze. I am not even sure that this pile of rock, if cleared away, will lead me to a tunnel. I only see the flicker of the flame.”
Now, if you do nothing, you can’t really say that you believe what you are thinking is true. You’re really not placing any confidence in your assumptions.
In fact, the longer you sit there idle, the less and less you believe in your assumptions. The longer you sit idle, the closer you are to running out of air and dying. And when you are at your last breath, with very little strength, you’ll wonder to yourself, “I wonder if my assumptions were correct?” But by now you are too weak to dig yourself out and finally collapse on the cave floor.
This hypothetical situation shows what faith is not. For faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 KJV
If, however, you truly believed that little bit of evidence (the flickering flame of the match) you would have begun to clear away the rock and debris in the direction from where you thought the breeze was originating. Faith without works is dead, futile, and worthless!
Faith is the substance of your belief that God resurrected Jesus Christ from the grave. Because Jesus Christ was resurrected, man has the hope, that they also, may be and will be, resurrected. If Jesus wasn’t resurrected from the grave, then our faith is futile and we are still in our sins.
The resurrection is the evidence, that, not only can we hope for eternal life, but that we can begin living (going in the direction that we believe will lead us to eternal life) with that hope as a motivator. The evidence is there –Jesus Christ has been clearly portrayed as crucified. Gal.3:1
What more could God do for us? I know that Jesus Christ lived two thousand years ago. I know that He was put to death (by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge) by the hands of wicked men.
I know that on the third day He arose from the dead and after another forty days, He ascended to the Throne that is in heaven. By faith, (for by which, I am saved) I will move in the direction (clearing away all the debris that is keeping me away from salvation) in which the Evidence points.
Have a great week!
Pastor JIm
Ain’t It Just Like God!
15/01/12 19:49
If
you haven’t heard by now, you should have! Tim
Tebow, the young quarterback for the Denver Broncos is
the latest sensation that has the country up in arms
and the Christian world hollering, “Alright and
Amen!”
Mr. Tebow started making news back in his college days when he played quarterback for the Florida Gators. He was a good quarterback –he won the Heisman trophy in 2007, was all-American and MVP. But the thing that gets the “Amens” is the fact that Tim Tebow is a Christian and an outspoken one at that.
He used to wear eye black during the games and on the eye black would print Scripture text, such as John 3:16. So, when Tim would be interviewed after a game, millions would see the Scriptural reference that he wore on his face.
He was (and still is) continually giving thanks to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I liked that. Some celebrities just thank God, Tim got specific! It just goes to show you.. it’s alright to talk about God –just don’t use that name-Jesus Christ.
In 2010 the NCAA made a new rule for its college players, dubbing it the “Tebow Rule” stating that players were no longer allowed to write messages on their person.
Tim was drafted in 2010 by the Denver Broncos and it was this year (after five games) that Tim became the starting quarterback for the team. Denver was 1-4 before Tim started, and 8-4 when Tim began as the starter.
But the hoopla really came to a head after last Sunday’s play-off game with the Pittsburg Steelers. Even though Tim couldn’t get his John 3:16 message out on his person (the NFL has the same rule as does the NCAA) God seems to have brought the message to America just the same.
You see, Tim’s total passing yards for the game was 316 yards and he averaged 31.6 yards per pass. Ben Roethlisberger (the quarterback for the Pittsburg Steelers) threw an interception in the second quarter, on the 3rd down with 16 yards to go. The total time of possession for the Pittsburg Steelers was 31 min and 6 sec. And to top it all off; the overnight viewer rating for CBS that night -31.6%. It’s just like David said in Psalm two; The One in Heaven just laughs!
The French Philosopher Voltaire, who lived in the 18th century, was well known for his antagonism against Judaism and Christianity. Some believe that he attacked Judaism only because it gave birth to Christianity.
He once held a Bible up in his hands proclaiming that within one hundred years Christianity would be dead and that the Bible might be able to be found in second-hand bookstores. Oddly though, it was within one hundred years after his own death that his very own home was turned into a place where they printed books. Guess which One?
And, I was just wondering… have you seen any of Voltaire’s books around? O, I imagine you can find them if you look –probably in a second-hand bookstore! I hope you don’t think after all of this that your God is vindictive –He is not. But one thing is for sure. Man will never win his fight against Him. God will always, I mean always, come out on top and with the last laugh.
Jesus told a parable once, and in that parable He told of a man who went away to make himself king. The people sent a delegation after him, rejecting him as king. But nevertheless, he became king.
I would like to tell the world just what David tried to tell them in his second psalm.
Mr. Tebow started making news back in his college days when he played quarterback for the Florida Gators. He was a good quarterback –he won the Heisman trophy in 2007, was all-American and MVP. But the thing that gets the “Amens” is the fact that Tim Tebow is a Christian and an outspoken one at that.
He used to wear eye black during the games and on the eye black would print Scripture text, such as John 3:16. So, when Tim would be interviewed after a game, millions would see the Scriptural reference that he wore on his face.
He was (and still is) continually giving thanks to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I liked that. Some celebrities just thank God, Tim got specific! It just goes to show you.. it’s alright to talk about God –just don’t use that name-Jesus Christ.
In 2010 the NCAA made a new rule for its college players, dubbing it the “Tebow Rule” stating that players were no longer allowed to write messages on their person.
Tim was drafted in 2010 by the Denver Broncos and it was this year (after five games) that Tim became the starting quarterback for the team. Denver was 1-4 before Tim started, and 8-4 when Tim began as the starter.
But the hoopla really came to a head after last Sunday’s play-off game with the Pittsburg Steelers. Even though Tim couldn’t get his John 3:16 message out on his person (the NFL has the same rule as does the NCAA) God seems to have brought the message to America just the same.
You see, Tim’s total passing yards for the game was 316 yards and he averaged 31.6 yards per pass. Ben Roethlisberger (the quarterback for the Pittsburg Steelers) threw an interception in the second quarter, on the 3rd down with 16 yards to go. The total time of possession for the Pittsburg Steelers was 31 min and 6 sec. And to top it all off; the overnight viewer rating for CBS that night -31.6%. It’s just like David said in Psalm two; The One in Heaven just laughs!
The French Philosopher Voltaire, who lived in the 18th century, was well known for his antagonism against Judaism and Christianity. Some believe that he attacked Judaism only because it gave birth to Christianity.
He once held a Bible up in his hands proclaiming that within one hundred years Christianity would be dead and that the Bible might be able to be found in second-hand bookstores. Oddly though, it was within one hundred years after his own death that his very own home was turned into a place where they printed books. Guess which One?
And, I was just wondering… have you seen any of Voltaire’s books around? O, I imagine you can find them if you look –probably in a second-hand bookstore! I hope you don’t think after all of this that your God is vindictive –He is not. But one thing is for sure. Man will never win his fight against Him. God will always, I mean always, come out on top and with the last laugh.
Jesus told a parable once, and in that parable He told of a man who went away to make himself king. The people sent a delegation after him, rejecting him as king. But nevertheless, he became king.
I would like to tell the world just what David tried to tell them in his second psalm.
“Therefore,
you kings, be wise; be warned you rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way. For his wrath can
flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”
Have
a blessed week!
Pastor
Jim
Pastor Is Sick: Update on Adelene Mulford
08/01/12 17:50
Pastor’s desk sat
empty this week as his fever raged and his cough
persisted. God has proved faithful and he is recovering
quite nicely. In place of Pastor’s submission, I
thought it might be nice to share with you from Julie
Mulford’s pen. She has been communicating via
Facebook so, for those of you who don’t have it:
1/5/12 Thank you everyone for your continued prayers for Adelene, Justin and I. Adelene is doing really well today, not very many spells (like they call it) which could vary on some things which consists of low oxygen levels, heart rate drop, or residual (food left undigested). Those things they tell us are normal for babies her size, but today she is doing very good since I called this morning. They moved her feeds from 5 to 4 ml because she had a spell with all that food yesterday....they were going to try 5 today for supper...I’m still praying for a miracle. We will be staying the whole weekend with my cousin in Columbus so we can be close to her. Please continue to pray for Adelene to grow quickly, strong and well and that she doesn't forget her mommy when I have to be away
and for us to have traveling
mercies. Also for me to heal very quickly, which
seems to be happening Praise God...so I can get
this house in order in time for her to return home
Love you all! God has his hand on us
*************************************************************************************
I wrote this to Adelene about a week before she was born....I couldn't sleep one morning and God laid this poem on my heart for her and I just wanted to share it with you
Oh Daughter of Zion by Julie Mulford
My heart is happy when I think of you.
My heart is filled with such joy.
The Lord has brought me happiness through your life.
Oh Daughter of Zion,
His princess, my princess,
My Daughter that belongs to the King.
You are loved even more with each passing day,
As I feel you grow, I sense His power;
It takes me back to the day,
The day promises were made,
The day I realized promises were not meant to be broken,
But fulfilled, My Daughter, Oh Daughter of Zion.
As I feel you move, I pray,
Pray for you, Oh Daughter of Zion.
When I pray, Our King,
The King on a thousand hills,
Reminds me,
He put you there and will keep you there, and will sustain you,
His Daughter, Oh Daughter of Zion.
I can't wait, Oh Daughter of Zion,
To look upon your face of beauty,
To touch your skin, to hold your hand,
To keep promises of love,
That weren't meant to be broken.
You're a miracle from up above,
My promise, My Daughter,
His Daughter, the King of a thousand hills,
Oh Daughter of Zion.
A noble theme was stirred inside me,
As I prayed and
Recited my verses,
For our King, to pray
To pray for you,
Oh Daughter of Zion.
Inside my heart burns,
Burns to be,
The queen,
The queen He made me to be.
To train you for our King.
I promise to love you
I promise to train you
I promise to teach you right from wrong
I promise to discipline you
I promise to hold you
I promise to listen to you
I promise to make time for you
I promise to be there for you
I promise to pray for you
I promise to take joy in you
I promise to keep your ears from harm
I promise to be strong for you
I promise to tell you when I mess up and to apologize
I promise to tell you and teach about our King,
the King on a thousand hills
His Daughter of Zion
Today, I promise, I give Him full control,
Control of my life,
Control of your life,
And He will sustain us His Daughters,
The Daughters of Zion
Before your first breath,
I have loved you,
Oh Daughter, His Daughter,
My Daughter of Zion.
***************************************************************
1/2/12 Thank you my dear family for all of your prayers....I am so thankful to have you and so blessed and thankful for such an awesome God that we serve! I appreciate you all so very much! Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Pray for Adelene to grow fast and well, we want her home so bad it hurts. It hurts so much to have her so far away and to be gone away from her for days.....it makes it much easier knowing that she is in better hands at the NICU getting better care than I could give her. What makes it even easier is knowing she is in her Makers hands every second of every day. Knowing these things helps me get through the day a lot easier, but still have that longing to be with my sweet baby Please pray for a fast recovery for
me so I can go to see her more often, and for
Justin as it is hard for him to have a recovering
wife and baby in the NICU and still have to go to
work....Love you all so very much ))
PASTOR AND I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEK
1/5/12 Thank you everyone for your continued prayers for Adelene, Justin and I. Adelene is doing really well today, not very many spells (like they call it) which could vary on some things which consists of low oxygen levels, heart rate drop, or residual (food left undigested). Those things they tell us are normal for babies her size, but today she is doing very good since I called this morning. They moved her feeds from 5 to 4 ml because she had a spell with all that food yesterday....they were going to try 5 today for supper...I’m still praying for a miracle. We will be staying the whole weekend with my cousin in Columbus so we can be close to her. Please continue to pray for Adelene to grow quickly, strong and well and that she doesn't forget her mommy when I have to be away
and for us to have traveling
mercies. Also for me to heal very quickly, which
seems to be happening Praise God...so I can get
this house in order in time for her to return home
Love you all! God has his hand on us
*************************************************************************************
I wrote this to Adelene about a week before she was born....I couldn't sleep one morning and God laid this poem on my heart for her and I just wanted to share it with you
Oh Daughter of Zion by Julie Mulford
My heart is happy when I think of you.
My heart is filled with such joy.
The Lord has brought me happiness through your life.
Oh Daughter of Zion,
His princess, my princess,
My Daughter that belongs to the King.
You are loved even more with each passing day,
As I feel you grow, I sense His power;
It takes me back to the day,
The day promises were made,
The day I realized promises were not meant to be broken,
But fulfilled, My Daughter, Oh Daughter of Zion.
As I feel you move, I pray,
Pray for you, Oh Daughter of Zion.
When I pray, Our King,
The King on a thousand hills,
Reminds me,
He put you there and will keep you there, and will sustain you,
His Daughter, Oh Daughter of Zion.
I can't wait, Oh Daughter of Zion,
To look upon your face of beauty,
To touch your skin, to hold your hand,
To keep promises of love,
That weren't meant to be broken.
You're a miracle from up above,
My promise, My Daughter,
His Daughter, the King of a thousand hills,
Oh Daughter of Zion.
A noble theme was stirred inside me,
As I prayed and
Recited my verses,
For our King, to pray
To pray for you,
Oh Daughter of Zion.
Inside my heart burns,
Burns to be,
The queen,
The queen He made me to be.
To train you for our King.
I promise to love you
I promise to train you
I promise to teach you right from wrong
I promise to discipline you
I promise to hold you
I promise to listen to you
I promise to make time for you
I promise to be there for you
I promise to pray for you
I promise to take joy in you
I promise to keep your ears from harm
I promise to be strong for you
I promise to tell you when I mess up and to apologize
I promise to tell you and teach about our King,
the King on a thousand hills
His Daughter of Zion
Today, I promise, I give Him full control,
Control of my life,
Control of your life,
And He will sustain us His Daughters,
The Daughters of Zion
Before your first breath,
I have loved you,
Oh Daughter, His Daughter,
My Daughter of Zion.
***************************************************************
1/2/12 Thank you my dear family for all of your prayers....I am so thankful to have you and so blessed and thankful for such an awesome God that we serve! I appreciate you all so very much! Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Pray for Adelene to grow fast and well, we want her home so bad it hurts. It hurts so much to have her so far away and to be gone away from her for days.....it makes it much easier knowing that she is in better hands at the NICU getting better care than I could give her. What makes it even easier is knowing she is in her Makers hands every second of every day. Knowing these things helps me get through the day a lot easier, but still have that longing to be with my sweet baby
Please pray for a fast recovery for
me so I can go to see her more often, and for
Justin as it is hard for him to have a recovering
wife and baby in the NICU and still have to go to
work....Love you all so very much ))
PASTOR AND I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEK
First Thing’s First
01/01/12 20:40
Robin and I
wish to offer all of you the Lord’s finest for
2012. Wow, 2012; who would have thought we (the Church)
would still be here?
I have believed in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture since I’ve given my heart to the Lord over twenty-six years ago and even though I thought that He would have returned by now, my hope is in no way deferred.
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.
As I approach this year, hope springs anew and my heart is refreshed in the greatness of our God and the surety of His Promises! O, praise the Lord, all you saints, lift His Name high and proclaim the mighty things He has done! This year looks to be one of the most exciting years of all.
The signs of His return are more pronounced and seem to be seen daily in our papers. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, I want to see you! Brothers and Sisters, we our living in a time when the Lord will come back for His own.
For the Lord Himself will come down, with a mighty shout, a trumpet call of an archangel, and the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air –and so, we will ever be with the Lord!
My faith is blessing me more and more here lately. When I read His Word, I [see] the surety of it more and more. I cannot truly explain it, I can’t find the words to describe it, but I am more and more assured that God’s will, will be done!
I realize that this is a blessing from God – actually a form of His mercy, if truth be told. When I have been in prayer, God sublimely speaks, “Behold, I come quickly!” It seems as though He speaks this even within the context of other things that He is saying. It is really cool when I think about it –it’s like He is multi-tasking with me.
David was right; there are joys evermore at His right hand.
And again, when he was in trouble and his soul was vexed, he cried out, “Why so downcast, O my soul, put thy trust in the Lord!”
The world is reeling in anxiety and trepidation. Fears abound in the hearts of many who have knowledge of the events that are transpiring so quickly. Governments are being overthrown; democracies are on the verge of collapsing while the threats of wars are imminent in the land of our Lord.
Volcanoes, earthquakes and crazy, crazy weather is the daily norm! Isn’t this what our Lord was talking about? Did He not say that these things would happen just prior to the end? O, we are living in exciting times; we are living in the time sought by the Church for the last two thousand years.
They longed for the Lord’s return even back then and looked for it! How much more for us? Jerusalem was ransacked in 70 A.D. and the Jews were dispersed throughout the world, just as the Lord had forewarned.
Now, they are gathered again in their homeland (just as He said) and soon they will be crying out for their Messiah. God loves Jerusalem and He is now watching over it. I know that He has always been watching over it, but now, His anger will be aroused and no one will be able to stay His hand.
He will watch over His own. He will protect them, He will be their Shepherd and they will flock to Him. And in that day –His name will be the only name! O saint of God, your King is coming in righteousness and mighty to save! Some can trust in riches, some, in the things of this world; but as for Robin and I, we will trust in the Lord! Happy New Year!
I have believed in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture since I’ve given my heart to the Lord over twenty-six years ago and even though I thought that He would have returned by now, my hope is in no way deferred.
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.
As I approach this year, hope springs anew and my heart is refreshed in the greatness of our God and the surety of His Promises! O, praise the Lord, all you saints, lift His Name high and proclaim the mighty things He has done! This year looks to be one of the most exciting years of all.
The signs of His return are more pronounced and seem to be seen daily in our papers. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, I want to see you! Brothers and Sisters, we our living in a time when the Lord will come back for His own.
For the Lord Himself will come down, with a mighty shout, a trumpet call of an archangel, and the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air –and so, we will ever be with the Lord!
My faith is blessing me more and more here lately. When I read His Word, I [see] the surety of it more and more. I cannot truly explain it, I can’t find the words to describe it, but I am more and more assured that God’s will, will be done!
I realize that this is a blessing from God – actually a form of His mercy, if truth be told. When I have been in prayer, God sublimely speaks, “Behold, I come quickly!” It seems as though He speaks this even within the context of other things that He is saying. It is really cool when I think about it –it’s like He is multi-tasking with me.
David was right; there are joys evermore at His right hand.
And again, when he was in trouble and his soul was vexed, he cried out, “Why so downcast, O my soul, put thy trust in the Lord!”
The world is reeling in anxiety and trepidation. Fears abound in the hearts of many who have knowledge of the events that are transpiring so quickly. Governments are being overthrown; democracies are on the verge of collapsing while the threats of wars are imminent in the land of our Lord.
Volcanoes, earthquakes and crazy, crazy weather is the daily norm! Isn’t this what our Lord was talking about? Did He not say that these things would happen just prior to the end? O, we are living in exciting times; we are living in the time sought by the Church for the last two thousand years.
They longed for the Lord’s return even back then and looked for it! How much more for us? Jerusalem was ransacked in 70 A.D. and the Jews were dispersed throughout the world, just as the Lord had forewarned.
Now, they are gathered again in their homeland (just as He said) and soon they will be crying out for their Messiah. God loves Jerusalem and He is now watching over it. I know that He has always been watching over it, but now, His anger will be aroused and no one will be able to stay His hand.
He will watch over His own. He will protect them, He will be their Shepherd and they will flock to Him. And in that day –His name will be the only name! O saint of God, your King is coming in righteousness and mighty to save! Some can trust in riches, some, in the things of this world; but as for Robin and I, we will trust in the Lord! Happy New Year!
Have a
great week!
Pastor Jim